NTN Police - National Testing Network Police Writing and Grammar Skills Questions and Answers

Question 1

Which of the following sentences is grammatically correct and uses proper spelling for a police report?

Accepted Answer

The suspect's vehicle was a late-model sedan.

Answer

This sentence is the only one without spelling or grammatical errors. The word 'vehicle' is spelled correctly. In the other options, 'seperate' should be 'separate', 'liason' should be 'liaison', and 'definately' should be 'definitely'. Correct spelling is critical for professional and credible reports.

Question 2

Which of the following sentences uses apostrophes correctly?

Accepted Answer

The witness's testimony was crucial to the case.

Answer

This sentence correctly uses 's to show that the testimony belongs to a single witness. Choice A is incorrect because 'department' is singular, so it should be 'department's'. Choice B is incorrect because 'It's' is the contraction for 'It is', which is needed here; 'Its' is possessive. Choice D is incorrect because 'officers' is a simple plural noun, not possessive, and should not have an apostrophe.

Question 3

An officer is writing a report and needs to describe how a new policy will impact the department. Which word should be used in the following sentence: 'The new directive will _______ the way officers document use-of-force incidents.'

Accepted Answer

affect

Answer

The correct word is 'affect,' which is a verb meaning 'to influence or produce a change in.' The new directive will influence the documentation process. 'Effect' is typically a noun meaning 'a result or outcome.' 'Except' and 'accept' are incorrect in this context.

Question 4

The following sentence from a field notebook needs revision: 'The suspect fled the scene on foot he was last seen running south on Main Street.' Which of the following is the BEST way to correct this run-on sentence?

Accepted Answer

The suspect fled the scene on foot; he was last seen running south on Main Street.

Answer

The original is a run-on (or fused) sentence because it combines two complete sentences without proper punctuation. A semicolon is used to correctly join two closely related independent clauses. Choice A creates a comma splice, which is also incorrect. Choice C is grammatically awkward and incomplete. Choice D is also awkward and less professional than using a semicolon.

Question 5

An officer needs to document arriving at a location. Which of the following sentences is the most clear, concise, and professional for an incident report?

Accepted Answer

I arrived at 123 Maple Avenue at 22:30 hours.

Answer

This sentence is the most effective because it is direct, uses active voice, and avoids unnecessary words. Police reports should be written with clarity and conciseness. Choice A is wordy ('made my arrival'). Choice C uses overly complex language ('effectuated'). Choice D is too informal ('got to').

(NTN Police) National Testing Network Police Test Practice Test

(NTN Police) National Testing Network Police Test Practice Test

NTN Police - National Testing Network Police Writing and Grammar Skills Questions and Answers